Laurastar Lift Xtra Steam Iron in Titan: Swiss Engineered 3-in-1 Steam Generator that Irons

I did tons of research, watched every video available about Laurastar. Watched every ironing system video there is, even the pro videos at press shops. The Laurastar videos made it look so perfect. Tons of on-demand steam, never ending. Sign me up, heck with the cost, I am all in.I have a great vacuum ironing board. The Reliable 550VB. I have a good Rowenta iron, the new DW5280. I am a "money-be-damned give me the best tool" male. I have zero brand loyalty. If you make a great product, I will buy it. (Update 12/05/21, DW5280 is good but mine had steam control problems/worked intermittently. Upgraded the iron to the Rowenta DW 9280, no problems with steam control, higher polish on soleplate, fantastic iron - this is it, ironing setup complete and very happy)I got carried away with how good the finish is on my clothes with the new Vacuum board and Rowenta. I thought let's see if we can do even better, really go next-level. I was getting a great finish but the Laurastar videos were so convincing, let's do this!The vacuum board is the biggest game changer. Look at my review of it, it really is that good and a must-have item, zero room for debate if looking for not only fast but the BEST finish on the fabric. Without this you will not get next level results. Send steam completely through fabric, iron wrinkles flat and smooth, cool and dry fabric as air passes through to set the finish, safe to move and continue ironing. Fast stunning results. That is what the vacuum board does. It's voodoo magic to ironing.Today the Laurastar Lift Xtra arrived. So excited. I'm going to use it and then call everyone and tell them to buy one. This is the type system the pros use...and now I have one! Put it to use immediately. Packaged well. Great looking...but things went downhill from there. Actually more like falling off a cliff.- first to notice is how plasticky everything is. Not a deal breaker, just a little surprised at how little metal and how much plastic. A little cheap feeling.- cold test-run to see how it feels. That's odd...cord is really stiff, rather hard to freely move around. Iron feels a little small, kind of "draggy". OK, don't panic. cord will probably flex better when hot just like my Jiffy 2000 Steamer, stay calm...remember this is a real deal, $900 ironing system. It will make up for this poor movement and draggyness with is powerful awesomeness...you'll see...it's going to blow my mind.Well, I got the "it blows" part right. Really sad.So here are my thoughts:- Noise? Meh, I already knew about that from the videos. My vacuum board is noisy too. So is a professional pressor shop. Noise just means you have the real deal.- Steam? Yeah, it pumps out a big blast just like the video. Problem is it is so "dry" that it doesn't work that great. Lots of not-great steam is just lots of nothing. My vacuum board draws the steam that actually works through the fabric and then cools it very fast by continuing to draw air through it. This is what matters most. This is how you set the finish.LStar steam was a joke, did almost nothing, over and over, psssst pssst, psssssssssssst, why is it slower than my "regular" iron?- 3D sole plate? Kind of weird looking but hey, "it spreads out the fabric and makes ironing easier, faster..." No, it actually bunches up the fabric when you iron in reverse stroke it and really screws it up if you dare to go side to side. OK maybe it's me, tried going slow and in even rows, very careful, you got this - it's going to work....Nope. It makes weird lines on it's best pass and is not smooth and caused horrible creases if you didn't pay brain surgeon attention. On top of that the finish was never fine, never smooth, always rough and with margin lines. This happened no matter what speed or pressure used. I am very good with tools, completely know how to "finesse" or adjust technique.Stiff cord? Well, it never got better and made it extremely frustrating to move around and even worse to detail-iron tough spots. Made it so I really did NOT enjoy ironing. I bought this hoping if not a better finish (I was already getting a great finish with my current setup), it would at least be faster, easier, more enjoyable because now I am just like the pros, "hey everybody, look at me, I have the real deal"....NOPE...just the opposite.I pulled out my Rowenta just to do a side by side. I am amazed at how much faster, easier and most importantly, better finish the Rowenta did. My Rowenta feels fun, easy, fast, forgiving.The Rowenta could detail iron much easier, go in reverse and glide side to side and laid down a great, flat, good looking finish. Zero comparison, no contest. Really made me sad because I wanted to LOVE the Laurastar. I even half-jokingly apologized to my new Rowenta as I was unboxing the Laurastar.Talk about irony...yeah, I know, but I said it anyway.I am a contractor, a single male and own outrageously expensive woodworking tools (e.g.: the brand Festool, German for "you paid how much?") e.g.: Normal router is $99 - Festool? same size is $700 but it works amazing. Buy once, cry once. BTW the Festool sliding compound miter saw is garbage. Like I said, not married to a brand, only buy the best of what works. Great router, lousy miter saw. My point is, I am not a Rowenta loyalist, not a Festool fanboy. I only buy and KEEP what works best.Laurastar Lift is just not good at ironing. I wouldn't use it if it were free, it really is that bad. I feel even worse because I have spoken to the LS customer service rep in Oregon and they were awesome, nice to talk to, professional, absolutely great at all levels and was really hoping to be a fan for life. Never in a million years did I think that this would be the outcome.

I had the previous version of the Laurastar Plus for several years. I made a fatal error with that machine by NOT emptying the metal tank every month. I didn't know I had to do that. So, 4 or so years later, my generator stopped working. It hissed & gurgled. I then found a video talking about emptying the tank. I was unable to unscrew the nut on the tank (it was limescale sealed.) I tried everything. The machine was caput. So I got online & found a "reasonably priced" Xtra Titan that I ordered. I set it up when it arrived (FIRST testing that metal plug to make certain it would open when necessary!!) IT'S A BEAUTIFUL MACHINE!! If you follow the instructions (releasing an initial burst of steam when it heats up, using the shoe when needed, setting up the cord in the cord holder), you will be amazed. I read someone complain about the stiffness of the cord. That's true initially. IT GETS MORE PLIABLE OVER TIME. The steam is super HOT too. I watched one video saying that the iron released "cool steam." That's NOT TRUE. It's so hot that you may need a rubber glove on your hand when pressing if you're sensitive. I LOVE the size of the iron. It's small enough for people with smaller hands or carpal tunnel. I LOVE that you can turn off the auto shut off!!! Just remember to shut it off when done! I LOVE the fine fabric soleplate or shoe. Lately, I've kept it on my iron for everything. The ironing/pressing has been flawless. This machine is a professional-style iron. You can hold your finger on the steam button & it will continuously & evenly let out steam. I'll be sure to treat this iron better than my last one & word to the wise -- EMPTY THE METAL BOILER ONCE PER MONTH as instructed.

Accidently bought a 120V input device for a country where the power works for 220V. The steam works fine in my first use, second use, steamer suddenly stopped after few minutes. After many consultation, found out I bought the wrong model and asked for an advise how to fixed it. Revered to nearest reseller in Singapore who asked me to go back to the reseller in Amazon. Then the cust service finally answered there is nothing they can do to help any more. They don't even advise me to find local technician trying to check and fix whatever was burnt inside. So I'm tucked with this USD1700 investment (including delivery and customs)

Doesn't hold enough water to iron one piece of wrinkled fabric. Also seems to be made entirely of plastic. Had to return it.